Flushing-tank.



C. WILLMS. PLUSHING TANK. APPLLOATION FILED MAX-'23, 190s.

Patented Jan. 5, 1909.

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C. WILLMS.

FLUSHING TANK.

APPLIUATION ULEB MAY 2s, 190s.

Patented Jan. 5, 1909.

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C. WILLMS.

FLUSHING TANK.

APPLIOATION IILBD MAY 2a, 190s.

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UNITED vsTATEs RATENT OEEIoE.

CHARLES wILLMs, oF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, AssIGNoR To WILLMS SANITARY WORKS, INCORPORATED, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, A CORPORATION OE DELAWARE.

FLUSHING-TANK.

Specication of Letters Patent.

PatentedJan. 5, 1909.

Application led. May 23, 1908. Serial No. 434,444.

To all whom it may concern: f

Be it known that I, CHARLES WILLMS, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flushing-Tanks, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to flushingtanks of the class shown in Letters Patent of the United States heretofore granted to me as follows: 838,601 ot' Dec. 18, 1906; 848,147 of March 26, 1907; 849,708 of April 9, i907; 850,989 of April 23, 1907, and 869,953 of November 5, 1907. In these patents I have shown tanks made of sheet metal without wood casings but which are provided with what I have called .condensation-collectors which serve to receive the water of condensation collecting on the outside of the tanks, such condensation-collectors or receivers being connected by means of the discharge-pipes of the tanks with the closet-bowls. As described in my patents, the condensation-collector also serves to receive any overlow which may occur from the tank, and in my Patent No. 838,601 of Dec. 18, 1906, I have shown a small pipe or tube conveying water from the ball-cock during the time that the tank is filling after the iushing operation, for the purpose of supplying a sufficient amount of water to the bowl to provide a water-seal after the {inshing action has removed the flush-water therefrom. It is quite usual to employ a small pipe or tube for this purpose and in my patent above referred to, I have shown such a tube supplying water to the closet-bowl by way of the condensation-collector. I have now found that this device may be entirely dispensed with and this is very desirable for many reasons. In the first place, it is an additional expense, secondly, in order to raise the supply water in the tube to a sufficient extent, 1t is necessary to provide a sufficient pressure by making the supply-port to the tank of quite small area, especially when the supply-pressure is low. For this reason, the operation of iillinof the tank is Often quite prolonged yand it Is not usually possible to flush a. second time until a considerable period has elapsed. I have discovered that by properly proportioning the sizes, lengths or areas of the Hush-water discharge-pipe and thepipe of passage leading from the condensation-receiver, I may cause suiiicient water to fiow from the flush-water dischargepipe in the act of iushing into the receiver where it collects and from which, after the flushing operation has ceased, it flows into the bowl and provides the required waterseal. It will be understood that in all Inodern closets there is an obstruction to the fiow of flush-water. Such is the case in Siphonjet closets or hopper-tra bowls. This obstruction to the How o water causes the Hush-water to back up in the discharge-pipe from the tank and by my improvements I cause such water to back up into the condensation-receiver in a suiiicient quantity to provide the water-seal.

By my improvements I can make the supply-port for the tank much larger than heretofore and hence can fill the tank more quickly and I am able to so proportion the parts as to supply the legal or required amount of flush-water and the amount necessary for a water-seal from a tank of minimum size without waste of material.`

In the accompanying drawings :-Figure 1 is a perspective view with parts broken away, of a dashing-tank embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a detail view in section of a device which may be employed for regulating the size of the passage through which Hush-water backs up into the receiver and through which it Hows back to provide a water-seal in the closetbowl. Fig. 3 is a detail view of a modified way of regulating the size of this passage. Fig. 4 is a detail view in section illustrating another way of conveying water to and from the condensation-receiver. Fig. 5 is a plan view of devices which may be employed for regulating the size of the passage shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 shows a rear elevation of the tank shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a view mainly in vertical central section' showing the manner in which the tank is applied to a wall and how it is connected with a closetbowl.

The general organization of the tank and its accessories, is similar to that shown in my patents above mentioned and in my application for Patent-NO. 369,719, filed April 23, 1907.

The water containing tank A is surrounded by a jacket or condensation-receiver B, which is provided with a removable cover C. There is an air-space X surrounding the water-containing-tank betweenlet-valve D is operated through thef'connec.-

tions shown, by means ofari arnr-resnEf-i'ni the manner shown and described in my application for Patent of April 23, 1907,'abov'e@ referred to. The ball-cock F is of a wellknown form, but-the port f is much larger in area than is usually the case and there is no connection with a pipe or tube for supplying water to provide a water-seal. The valve f of the ball-cock is connected'r to the floatrod' g, which latter carries an oval, oblong or egg-shaped float G, constructed in the manner shown and described in my application for Patent No. 434,443, iled'May 23', 1.908. The advantagesl of a float of this kind are" fully set forth in my said application and it will be observed that' the oval float enables me to utilizethe maximum part ofthe tank for containing water', while the cover may be brought down close to the top of the tank without interfering with the operation of the float. If a spherical float were employed, the water level would necessarily be lower or the cover arched to a greater extent. The float is intended'` to drop and rise only a short distance in order to operate the ball-cocky and it aifords an extended surface upon which the water acts promptly as it rises and a large buoyant surface which causes the valveV of the' ballcock to be held morek iirmly in place when closed.

The water-containing-tank A is connected with the closet-bowl Y by means of a flushwater discharge-pipe H in the usual way and the condensation-receiver B is connected with the'pipe H by means of a branch-pipe I. As in my prior patents, water of condensation accumulating on the outside of the walls of the ta-nk'A will bev received by the condensation-,receiver and' will pass through the4 pipe I to the discharge-pipe H.' In like. manner, any water overflowing through the holesa at the top of the tank will beV discharged through the pipe I. I havev found that byprovidinga branch-pipe of suitableflength and area and. connecting l it attheproper elevation in the pipe H, I

can. cause a sufficient amount of the flushwater to pass up through-the branch-pipeI during thev Hushing operation into the condensation-receiver and them/after the iiushwaterl has left the bowl, descend into the bowl and producethe requisite water-seal. If'the pipe I be ofvery small inside diameter, the flush-waterA will not rise through it, owing to the great resistance thusv pro.- d'uced. If the pipe I is connected with the discharge-pipe at tooulow an elevation, the water will not' properly'riseand if'itbeconconnect it at theproper elevationlwith thel Vdischarge-pipe H and to make the pipe H i of the proper' lengthf but; in' order to regu# late, thefsizeof' thef passagel through the pipe I, the latter may be provided with a plug J, having a passage through it and which may be so turned as to regulate to any desi-redv extent the passage in the pipe in which caseV the sizes of the pipes I and H and their lengths need not be so closely calculated as the relative sizes of the passages may be con-trolledby the plug J. The same result may be obtained by employing washersfK of4 various sizes, in the manner indicated in Fig. 3'. Ifv the passage through one washer is found to be too large, a washer having a smallerV passage may be substituted.

In they organization shown in Figs. l and 7, I have obtained good results by' employing a discharge-pipe H, the interior diameter of which is 2 inches, while the interior diameter of the branch-pipe I is. of an inch, and by connectingV the various pipes in the manner indicated. Instead of employing a branchpipe I likevthat indicated in Fig.. l', I may construct a connection between the condensation-receiver and the dischargepi'pe of the' kind illustrated in Figs; 4L and 5. ThisV general arrangement is shown in myPatent No. 848,147'of March 26, 1907 above' referred to.v

In this case, instead of employing a branchpipe', the discharge-pipe is made in sections with an interveni g spacey L between the sections, with which communicates a passage'Mf from the condensation-receiver. The area of this passageY may, in the lirst instance, be made of the proper relative4 size to permit ioo the proper amount' of water to pass into the' condensation-receiver to providev the water#v seal, but the size of this passage maybe reg.-A ulated'in any sui-table way, as by the devices" shown in Fig., 5, where two segmental plates'- N, N', are' shown pivoted together at n, which will permit them to be brought close'v together or spread apart to adjust the area of the passage M. y

By my iniprovements',y I am enabled.V to

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control absolutelyl the amount of41 water de-V livered through the ball-cockv at each opera;- tion to supply the" required or legal. amount of'water for' flushing' and sealing' purposes. Inthe' tank shown in the drawing, every inch inside` theH tank, measured vertically, contains one-half? a gallonV of water andv the tank is 133i inches deep, so that ive gallons are provided for flushing' purposes, threequarters ofa` gallon .or three quarts, for seal'- ing' purposes (which is theV usual amount employed)` and a small surplus which remains in the tank; In this' way, the tank. maybey made .of proper size but having no' eXcessive'area so that not'onlycan metal be? saved, but thel dimensions.v of Y,the 'tankT may'i ile-impe within Stich limits that it maybej easily formed without seamY ofthin sheetj' metal and enameled -'n the mannerl described in my former patents, and as before stated, the relative areas of the pipes H and I or the relative areas of the passages illustrated in Fig. 4, may be so regulated as to insure that only the required amount of water, say three quarts, shall be conveyed to the condensation-receiver for sealing purposes. While the sealing-water does not 'low back from the condensation-receiver so promptly as to be siphoned out through the bowl with the flush-water, it nevertheless Hows back much more promptly and produces a seal much faster than is the case Where a small tube connected with the ball-cock is employed.

As described in my former patents, it is necessary that the space X between the tank and the condensation-receiver shall be thoroughly ventilated and in my patents I have shown the back of the jacket or condensation-receiver fenestrated or provided with `large openings. In my Patent No. 869,958 of Nov. 5, 1907,I have shown devices applied to the back of the jacket for holding it away from the wall. The tank herein shown, and as particularly illustrated in Fig. 6, is provided with two fenestrums or large openings P, instead of a single one, and these openings are surrounded by anges 72 which, however, are partially cut away as illustrated at p to permit the free passage of air.

I claim as my invention:

l. A {lush-tank associated with a condensation-recei ver and having a connection with a closet-bowl for flushing purposes while the condensation-receiver is connected to receive a proper amount of flush-water to be automatically supplied to the bowl after the ushing operation to provide the required water-seal.

2. The combination with a closet-bowl of a water-tank associated with a condensationreceiver and connections between the tank the bowl and the condensation-receiveno such relative areas that part of the fiush Water will rise into the condensation-receiver during the flushing operation and then flows therefrom to supply the required amount of water to provide a water-seal in the bowl.

3. A flush-tank associated with a condensation-receiver ard having a connection with a closet-bowl for flushing purposes, while the condenser-receiver is connected to receive a part of the flush-water to be automatically supplied to the bowl after the flushing operation and to afford a water-seal, the area of the waterpassage leading to and from the condensation-receiver being so regulated as to cause the required amount of water for sealing purposes to pass at each operation.

4. A flush-tank associated with a condensation-receiver and having a connection with a closet-bowl for flushing purposes, a passage connecting the receiver with the connection between the flushtank and the bowl for conducting iiush-water to the condensationreceiver and for conveying it therefrom for sealing purposes, and means for regulating the size of this passage.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name. i

CHARLES WILLMS.

Witnesses:

FRED WV. NEW, CHARLES W. A. NEW. 

